


Halloween Surprises

by raidelle



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, Halloween, M/M, Post-Episode Ignis Verse 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:28:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27257941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raidelle/pseuds/raidelle
Summary: It's the first Halloween -- the firstanything, really -- since the Crown City has been officially declared “recovered and restored” after the Long Dark is coming up, and Gladio is excited. He decorates the house, asks Ignis to please prepare pumpkin pie, and buys all the candy for trick-or-treaters.And then, on Halloween night, something happens that makes Gladio unexpectedly sentimental and teary-eyed.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 10
Kudos: 17





	Halloween Surprises

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SimpleLoon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SimpleLoon/gifts).



> This is a gift for the sweet [Anna](https://twitter.com/annatheloon) who requested "Gladnis Halloween."
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading! ^^

Ignis stares at the shopping cart laden with what looks like all of the contents of the supermarket’s candy aisle.

“That’s, er, quite a lot of sweets, isn’t it, love?”

Gladio doesn’t even deny it. “I just want to be prepared,” he says with a shrug.

“Mm, of course,” Ignis nods, indulgent as ever to his fiance’s whims, “I suppose those pumpkins are for carving, then?”

“Not _all_ of them,” Gladio grumbles, clearly offended. “I only got the two biggest for carving. The two small ones are for some pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread.”

“You are, of course, assuming that I know how to make pumpkin pie and pumpkin bread.”

Gladio stops the shopping cart abruptly and looks back at Ignis with wide eyes. “Uh. Can’t you? All those years ago, I thought —”

Ignis laughs. “I was teasing, love,” he says.

Gladio blows out a breath in relief. “Okay. So, uh, would these two be enough? I forgot how much Jared…” Gladio pauses, blinks, and swallows before continuing, “I forgot how much pumpkin Jared used when he made them for us years ago.”

Ignis smiles softly. “Hmm, well, if it’s just the two of us sharing then this one would suffice.” He points at the slightly smaller pumpkin on top of the pile.

“Okay. Lemme put the other one back, then.”

“No, no, let’s keep it,” Ignis says. He squeezes Gladio’s arm and adds, “We’ll save all the seeds for roasting and then you can have a baby jack-o-lantern for the two big ones.”

“Thanks, Iggy. You’re the best.”

Ignis just smiles again in reply. He remembers how big of a production Halloween had been at the Amicitia Manor all those years ago, himself having been pulled into the festivities quite a few times.

He remembers Jared and his scrumptious Halloween menu (Ignis will admit to borrowing a couple of his recipes over the years). He remembers Iris and little Talcott (who is not so little anymore) who got tangled in black-and-orange paper chains.

He remembers Gladio who had always painstakingly handmade his costumes and then pretended he only made the effort because Iris loved dressing up and trick-or-treating.

He remembers Clarus whose Halloween garb had always been a pair of plastic fangs paired with his ceremonial cloak, and who had always insisted on handing out the treats to the children himself as he spoke with an exaggerated accent.

Then, Ignis looks at Gladio, who’s now eyeing a display of kiddie costumes labeled “King of Light” with fond, teary eyes.

“Do you want to dress up this year?”

“Nope.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I mean, I wanna focus on the house so all the kids’ll know that they’re gonna get all the best candy from us.” Gladio grins. He still looks a little emotional, but he squares his shoulders nevertheless and grips the handle of the shopping cart a little tighter. “So what else do we need for the pie?”  
  


* * *

  
  
“Ready, babe?”

“I think I should be asking you that.” Ignis couldn’t help his smile at Gladio’s excitement.

“Okay, okay, here we go.” He presses the remote switch in his hand and their house lights up with orange and purple lights. On top of the four steps leading to the front door was the family of jack-o-lanterns, welcoming trick-or-treaters with their glowing grins.

Ignis steps back as if to get a better look. “Excellent work, love,” he says. He takes out his phone and takes a couple of shots. “Now let’s go back inside and get the loot bags ready. The kids will be trooping down the street in a few minutes.”

“Yeah, okay. Can you send the pics to Iris, though? She’s gonna want to see.” Gladio’s practically vibrating with excitement and Ignis’s smile grows.

Soon enough, their doorbell rings and a chorus of “Trick or treat!” echoes from outside. Gladio opens the door and finds himself facing a group of four friends: two vampires, a mummy, and a cat.

“Aww, you guys are so cute!” He hands the children a loot bag each and ruffles everybody’s hair.

“Thank you, mister!” the kids chorused again before scurrying down the steps and running towards the next house.

More kids arrive at their home by the minute, dressed in all sorts of costumes. A spirited six-year-old dressed as Aranea Highwind, complete with a spear, a little Shiva, and two Ramuhs with fluffy fake beards. There’s also no less than nine Noctises, all of whom let out gasps of surprise when they realized who exactly was handing out their candy.

And then, close to ten in the evening, Gladio opens the door to a miniature version of himself.

“Oh,” he breathes.

“Oh!” the child breathes back. He looks to be about nine or ten. His scars look painted on with brown-orange lipstick, it looks like, and his shield and broadsword are carefully painted cardboard. He finally snaps into attention when he recovers from his surprise, giving Gladio and Ignis a snappy Lucian salute. “Trick or treat, Lord Shield, sir,” the boy says earnestly.

Gladio couldn’t seem to speak, so Ignis takes over for him with a gentle, “You’re adorable.”

“Oh!” the boy gasps again. “Thank you, Lord Hand, sir. Happy Halloween, sir.”

“What’s your name?”

“I’m Damian, sir.”

“Here you go, Damian.” Ignis hands over a bag of candy and an extra cupcake to the little Shield.

“Wow! Thank you so much. These are awesome!”

“Happy Halloween, little Shield.”

“Take care out there, yeah?” Gladio manages to croak out.

Damian’s eyes widen in awe. “Yes, sir!” he says and salutes again.

Ignis watches the boy march away, keeps an eye on him until he disappears into the night. Only then does he close the door and turns to his fiance. “Are you all right, love?”

“Uh, yeah. I just wasn’t…”

“Expecting someone to dress up as you?”

“Yeah. I mean, Noct’s already a given. I just wasn’t… you know. I was just there.”

“You weren’t _just_ there, love. You protected Noct to the best of your abilities, and now here you are. Here we all are. Look at how far we’ve come.”

Gladio stays quiet, his eyes on the closed door, as if he could still see Damian beyond it.

“Is it so surprising that a child looks up to you?”

“Kind of?” Gladio laughs almost self-deprecatingly.

“Come here,” Ignis says. He opens his arms and Gladio willingly steps into them.

Gladio rests his cheek on Ignis’s hair and hums in content. “Love you, babe.”

“I love you, too.”

“Now,” Ignis says, pulling back and patting Gladio’s chest, “I do believe we’re down to two bags of Halloween treats. What do you think about bingeing on candy while watching movies?”

“In the bedroom?”

“I could be convinced.”

“Okay.”

Gladio kisses Ignis, soft, short, and sweet, and takes his hand to lead him deeper into the warmth of their home.

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments are very much welcome. I promise I reply to comments. ^^
> 
> You can also find me on social media:
> 
> Twitter: @raidelle3573  
> Discord: @raidelle#3573


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